katie porter
- february 8, 2020 -

            "TELL ME WHY THEY CALL it this again? Seems sadder than a singled-out magpie." Ann-Marie scanned the banquet hall. Two students were hanging up a banner that read 'Lonely-Hearts Auction'.

            "It's supposed to be a nod to The Beatles song Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club."

            "And the baskets?"

            I laughed, "People buy them and when the auction is over, the owner of the basket and the person who made it kind of go on these dates together."

            Jackson walked by and tipped his head, "His arms were full of boxes balancing on top of each other, "Ladies."

            He wore a large smile that complimented his bright eyes perfectly. The black tie he wore fit him perfectly, but he was missing the suit jacket. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. Stepping up to one of the large tables, he started to unpack the boxes full of different baskets.

            Ann-Marie leaned down to whisper in my ear. I pulled my eyes from Jackson's back and looked at her stunned, "What'd you say?"

            She laughed, her hand going to her stomach, "I said, who's that?"

            "Oh," I shook my head, trying to get it to focus. I started to pull baggies of desserts out of different bins. I fanned them out and scattered them around the table, "That's Jackson Montgomery. He's the facility advisor for the Poetry Club."

            "Kind of a looking, ain't he?" We both turned to look at him. He put out another basket before putting the boxes under the table and moving to one of the poetry students.

            "Yeah, I admitted with a shrug of my shoulder, "you could say that. Now help me with this sign, will you?"

            She rolled her eyes, but grabbed the other side of the banner so we could tack it up. We pulled off our heels and climbed the ladders, hanging the banner across the back of our booth.

            Standing back, we took a look at our work. Cookies and different desserts laid across the table. The banner was straight and we hung a poster with all the information about the bakery. Just looking at the banner made me excited.

            SAVE THE SUNSHINE

            What a slogan. It was happy and bouncy and it made you want to do something. No one ever wanted the sunshine to go out.

            "YOU GUYS WOULDN'T HAPPEN TO be the bakery that was at the market last month, would you?" A blond man asked, looking over the different food. He read the banner and smiled to himself.

            I smiled at the man, "Yeah. We are."

            It was the movie guy. He looked different, all polished up. Automatically, my eyes scanned the banquet hall and found the redhead sitting at a table with an empty chair next to her. She laughed along with the people around her.

            "Here," I handed him a couple of snickerdoodles. His brows knitted and he just stared at the cookies, "For you and your girlfriend."

            His eyes darted to the cookies to me and back again, "Oh, no. We aren't—" He wrung his hands together, "There isn't—We're just—I mean, we—Um..."

            I laughed and pushed the cookies towards him, "Dude, just take the cookies."

            "Thanks. She'll love them." Dimples appeared in his cheeks when he smiled. He dropped money in the donation box. He was on his way to the table when an older gentleman stopped him to talk.

            "You know 'em?" Ann-Marie asked next to me.

            "No. Not really." I smiled, "Just seen him around with this girl. They're the cutest thing."

            She smiled and winked at me, "Speakin' of seein' around. That Jackson guy seems to like you."

            Butterflies went off in my stomach thinking how his fingers had lingered on mine, but I waved her off, "No. We've only really met once, maybe twice."

            Her brows rose and she grabbed a bundle of cookies, putting them in an empty basket, "Well, Mister 'Once Maybe Twice' is headin' this way."

            "This booth looks amazing," Jackson scanned the table full of treats.

            "Well, thanks, Darlin'." He paused and changed his focus from the cookies to Ann-Marie. I bit back a laugh when I saw his face. It was the same face I'd seen a million times before on people. He didn't know which eye to look at. The green one or the blue one.

            She held out her hand, her bracelets jingling against each other, "Ann-Marie."

            "Jackson," he smiled.

            She barely glanced my way before giving the poor guy a once over, "Katie said yer a looker, but I'll be damned, ain't you just cute as a button with that smile."

            He rubbed the back of his neck, "Oh, thank you." His smile turned lopsided and the tips of his ears turned red. Clearing his throat, he looked at me, "A looker, really?"

            "And, that's ma cue," she grabbed the basket and wandered from table to table, talking about the bakery. I shook my head with a tight-lipped frown. Glaring at her back, I took a deep breath.

            "I simply agreed with her when she said you were a looker."

            His smile widened and he chuckled, "It's okay if you think I am. I kind of think you are. So, that makes us about even, doesn't it?"

            "Shut up," I laughed.

            His eyes fell to my hands and we both stopped, "How are you doing?"

            "I haven't screamed at any trains lately, if that's what you mean," I smiled.

            He shook his head, "That's not what I meant. I mean, how are you doing?" His words came out slow, deliberate with every single word.

            "I'm pretty good. Thank you for staying with me. I've never broken down like that before. It was really nice having someone there to help me through it."

            The sides of his mouth tipped up, "How was I supposed to leave you?"

            I turned my hand over and stared at the palm for a moment. The little cut contradicted the flattering blue dress I wore. With its spaghetti strap top and slit to my thigh.

            "Excuse me, everyone." Jackson and I both almost jumped at the girl's voice. We turned to watch the brunette girl on the stage. She wore a baby blue dress that stopped just above her knees.

            "The poetry club just totaled the numbers and between all the auction items and donations we made just over 20 thousand dollars today." The crowd erupted in cheers and claps.

            I high-fived Jackson as I walked around the table to stand next to him, "That's amazing. Does the auction usually make that much money?"

            He shook his head in response, "Never, but we did a little bit of a different type of advertising this year."

            "But," she smiled, scanning the audience. She had their attention in the palm of her hand, "That's not all. As many of you knew from the flyers, we passed out that this year we did things a little differently. All proceeds and donations from tonight are being given to Kensington's own Sunshine Bakery."

            With my jaw dropped open, my hands came up to cover it. I was going to be sick. They were talking about twenty-thousand dollars.

            Was I breathing? Had I stopped breathing?

            Jackson placed a hand on my shoulder and I was barely able to pull my eyes away from the stage. I could still hear the girl speaking, but nothing was registering quite right in my brain.

            "Katie, are you okay?"

            I twisted in my spot, my arms flinging around Jackson for a hug. We had a real chance. The bakery had an actual real chance now. It all seemed just close enough to touch.

            "Did you do this?" I asked, stepping back from him.

            "It wasn't me. The members voted on it. It was entirely their idea, but I'm glad they did."